Initially it was the rawness. When I heard The Message. I was listening to Devo, Blondie, New Wave Groups like that that were sort of Cutting Edge. I remember in 1982 you heard Foreigner on the Radio, Blue oyster Cult. I was ten at the time. When I heard Th Message, what struck about was that the music was almost a nonexistant soundscape, it was very raw, the lyrics were so direct, it wasnt just poetry. This was excatly how it was. That was so powerful, it was like boom. And the next song I heard about three weeks later was Planet Rock. It was those two songs that ignited the fire. I was very fanatical. I did not grow up in the city but about twenty minutes away from one.
DJ Shadow

The reason why it is that strong, and why HipHop is so inbred, is that there is a very structured wheel, a very definable system on how to get paid in HipHop. Busta Rhymes is someone who took that road and sure enough got paid. As long people like him are allowed to continue to do that it wont change. There is a very specific sound and a very specific attitude, and it changes every year, but as long as you stay in there and keep doing it, and keep narrowing your scope, dressing the rigt ways etc. you get paid.
DJ Shadow